Unicef says children as young as one have been raped during Sudan's war

Over 200 children in Sudan, including infants, have been raped since the beginning of 2024, the UN children’s agency Unicef has revealed in a distressing new report that contains harrowing victim testimony.

In the first detailed account of the impact of rape on children during the country's war, which began in April 2023, the agency documented 221 rape cases against children from 2024 until now. The majority of the survivors - 66 percent - are girls.

Sixteen of the survivors are under five years of age, including four infants aged just one. 

Unicef recorded another 77 reported cases of sexual assault against children, most of them attempted rape.

The report does not identify the perpetrators of the sexual abuse.

The UN's 2023 report on children and armed conflict in Sudan, published in June 2024, verified and attributed 67 violations to unidentified perpetrators, 63 to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, 15 to Arab militias affiliated with the RSF, four to the Chadian army and two to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which is at war with the RSF.

The violence recorded is widespread. Cases have been recorded across nine states in Sudan, often occurring during the invasion of cities while victims are fleeing danger or being held against their will, and even during daily activities such as fetching water or going to the market.

'During the 19 days I spent there, I reached a point where I wanted to end my life'

- Sudanese woman witness

In some cases, armed men stormed homes and raped girls in front of their loved ones. Girls also reported being repeatedly raped by several armed men, one after another.

In one account, a woman who was being held in a room with other women and girls described a young girl being taken to another room by a man with a whip.

"I could hear the little girl crying and screaming. They were raping her," she said.

"Every time they raped her, this girl would come back covered in blood. She is still just a young child. They only release these girls at dawn, and they return almost unconscious.

"Each of them cries and speaks incoherently. During the 19 days I spent there, I reached a point where I wanted to end my life."

'Only the tip of the iceberg'

Unicef spokesperson Tess Ingram emphasised that the figures are “only the tip of the iceberg,” as survivors and their families are often deterred from reporting cases due to a lack of access to services, societal stigma and fear of retribution from armed groups. 

This is especially true of boys, who the report said face “unique challenges” when it comes to reporting being sexually abused.

Girls who become pregnant face societal stigma and rejection by their families.

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The violence is driving women and girls from their homes and into internally displaced communities where they are at heightened risk of rape and assault.

The report highlighted that the violence is not just being perpetrated by armed groups, documenting a rise in sexual exploitation within communities in shelters and informal internally displaced persons (IDP) sites.

In some cases, abuse is perpetrated by people in positions of power at these sites, who demand sex in exchange for services.

Due to limited accessibility of services, survivors are forced to cope with sparse medical and psychological support.

Funding for such services is thin, with the recent cuts to US aid further restricting women and children’s access to medical help.

Emergency response rooms, set up by Unicef via a network of activists to provide support for victims, were closed following the funding freeze, according to UN Women.

Furthermore, local women-led organisations that deliver support to survivors of sexual violence receive less than 2 percent of the UN’s Sudan Humanitarian Fund.